Can't Break Away
by Kibahina11
Summary: Serenade has moved to Sweet Amouris and is thrilled to see her best friend, Nathaniel after many years! But it feels as if Nathaniel may have stronger feelings for his best friend! But she doesn't think of him in that way, until she realizes she's falling more & more for Nathaniel! Will Serenade keep her distance? Or will she fall for her best friend of many years? NathanielxOC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: After playing My Candy Love, I fell in love with it and decided to write my own story! :D I haven't finished the game to this day, so excuse me if I miss some character names. And I won't go along with the original game story. It's my own :) hehe Well hope you guys enjoy it! Don't forget to read and review! ^_^ (Cause i love getting reviews ;) hehe **

**I don't own My Candy Love or its characters. I only own mine, Serenade.**

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Transferring schools would have been quite a hassle for almost anybody. You would have to get ready to leave friends behind, memories and double check every single paper was in order and ready to go. For Serenade Vega, it was probably the happiest thing for her. Although she did not want to leave at first, she knew it was because of her parents' job and she had to comply; her parents' travelling job meant the world to them and she hated to disappoint them. So grudgingly, as any other pre-teen, she accepted her fate and moved away from her true home.

Serenade especially hated to have to leave her best friend, Nathaniel Hunter, behind. The two had been best friends since kindergarten and it hit him the worse when she told him that she would be moving away soon. Like any other guy, Nathaniel did not express how he felt about her moving away, but when the time came for Serenade to leave, Nathaniel gave her a silver locket encrusted with her birthstone, garnet; inside the locket was a picture of the two friends arms around each other's shoulders and giving a goofy smile at the camera.

Ever since then, Serenade has always worn that locket. It reminds her of her beloved friend, and hopes he still remembers her despite losing contact with Nathaniel after starting high school.

But now that Serenade is seventeen years old, her parents allowed her to move into her own apartment to transfer back and finish high school in Sweet Amouris. Of course they would be sending in money since their job required for them to travel and they would be overseas in different places. And being an only child had its advantages so her parents send a little extra money when they had the chance.

Soon, Serenade arrived back in her old hometown, said hello to her aunt who lived nearby and was appointed temporary guardian by her parents, then finally began making her way to her brand new high school. Feeling slightly nervous, Serenade made her way into her new high school and entered the doors.

At the door, there was her new principal waiting to greet her new coming student.

"Well, hello there Serenade," the Principal said. "I am your new Principal and I welcome you to Sweet Amouris High School! I hope you get to enjoy your time here."

Serenade sweetly smiled and thanked her then the principal replied, "Now you have your paperwork in order right? If you already have it done, you may go into that classroom right there and give your paper work to our student body president, Nathaniel Hunter."

That part made Serenade's heart flutter. _I can't believe he's the student body president! _She thought to herself. _I can't wait to see him!_

Serenade quickly made her way over to the classroom, knocked on the door, opened it and saw him…

Her jaw dropped at the sight of him; Nathaniel was no longer small, skinny and had his blonde hair neatly combed like Draco Malfoy's in the first Harry Potter movie. Instead, what stood before her was a tall, toned and messy haired seventeen year old Nathaniel Hunter. She couldn't help but think that her best friend had gotten quite handsome over the course of the years.

As she still goggled at Nathaniel looking through some books, he looked up as he realized he was being watched. His golden eyes widened at the sight of Serenade and he quickly put the papers down and made his way to her.

"Serenade?" he asked slowly as he stared at her. "Is it really you?"

The girl smiled at him and said, "Of course it's me Nathaniel!"

Nathaniel smiled and hugged the girl very tightly, and Serenade returned the hug as well. As soon as the two broke apart, they began to catch up immediately.

"It's been so long!" Serenade exclaimed. "How have you been? What's going on?"

Nathaniel chuckled. "Well, I am the student body president. It took me awhile, but I finally realized I had some good leadership qualities so I decided to pursue the top positions of everything I'm in."

Serenade smiled at him. "So I guess you're not the little boy who caused trouble all the time anymore?"

Her best friend chuckled again. "No, I've reformed myself Serenade. But enough about me, what's going on with my best friend?"

"Well, my parents decided to let me live on my own! So I decided to transfer back here," Serenade began. "I missed it here so much! I couldn't wait."

Nathaniel continued to listen to her story and was very impressed at the fact that her parents let their only daughter move back to their old hometown on her very own. In a way, he secretly envied her for having her parents trust her so much. His parents still had trouble trusting him despite his success at achieving student body president, and keeping straight A's in all of his classes.

Once done with her story, Nathaniel beamed at her and said, "Well, I'm glad that my best friend got to move back here with me. Not to mention, that she's gotten quite pretty since the last time I saw her."

Serenade blushed lightly but grinned at him. She was surprised that he had said that, but it flattered her nonetheless. She hadn't even thought that Nathaniel would notice her looks! Her black hair had gotten quite longer, her body was less straight and flat, but it grew curves in places that made her blush, and she even developed a taste for fashion thanks to her mother. But Serenade was proud to have inherited her grandmother's natural emerald green eyes that turned quite a few heads.

"Well it's also nice to know my best friend grew pretty handsome since then," Serenade replied teasingly, though was yet again surprised to see Nathaniel blush but very faintly.

"Now, I know you didn't come just to see me," Nathaniel started as he smiled. "So may I have your paperwork Serenade?"

Serenade then handed Nathaniel the paper work and he began to look through them, and make sure everything was in order for her to enroll. After a few minutes, Nathaniel was finished and he looked up and smiled at Serenade once again.

"Everything seems to be in order. Alright then, welcome to Sweet Amouris High School, Serenade Vega," Nathaniel stated importantly.

That made Serenade giggle and Nathaniel beamed proudly, knowing he still could make his best friend smile and laugh. Afterwards, he handed her own ID and told her she may go take a picture at the store across the street, and also handed her school schedule for the rest of the year.

However, as Nathaniel handed her everything he had mentioned, their hands grazed each other, and at that moment, it felt as if Nathaniel wanted to take hold of her hand and never let go. It made Serenade feel a little confused as to why Nathaniel had done that. The only time they had held hands was when they were still small and they were playing around in the park, and even then Serenade had not thought too much of it.

She shrugged it off and thanked Nathaniel before she headed off to take her ID picture. But as she left, Serenade missed the look of happiness, and longing on Nathaniel's face as he watched her depart from his company.


	2. Chapter 2

Serenade's first week went by fast and she had a pretty good time. However, a boy named Ken, also arrived at Sweet Amoris. It would not have been a big deal, but Ken had a huge crush on Serenade and was always in pursuit of her. Even if Serenade always told him no politely, he still chased after her. It also shocked her very much and prayed that they would stay far away from each other during the school day.

Despite that, Serenade spent a great amount of time with Nathaniel that whole week. It was so much fun to catch up with her best friend; she had missed him so much! And Nathaniel seemed very happy as well to have gotten caught up with Serenade after all these years. But Serenade had nearly forgotten about his younger sister, Amber until she saw Amber roaming the halls of the school as apparently one of the most popular girls.

Amber was okay when they were younger, but she was spoiled by her parents a lot. Serenade also remembered when she would watch Nathaniel pull pranks on his sister that would get him in trouble with their parents. And Serenade had never thought badly of Amber until they met again.

Serenade was just walking to her literature class when she saw Amber walking with her clique. But before Serenade could even greet her, Amber took one look at her, scrunched up her nose as if she had just walked by a dumpster, and then gave a sarcastic laugh that made her friends who joined her.

"Who got that outfit for you?" Amber sneered at Serenade. "At least there are _some _people in this school with a great fashion sense like _moi!_"

With that comment said Amber gave another sarcastic laugh and pranced away, looking as if she owned the school herself. After school, Serenade mentioned the incident to Nathaniel and rolled his eyes at the end of Serenade's encounter.

"She has gotten a little conceited over time," he sighed. "Especially because our parents have always spoiled her and given her everything she wants."

"Well, it kinda hurt," Serenade said as she gently played with her hair. "You know I have always been self-conscious about my looks… I think she might use it against me…"

She looked away, but looked back up at Nathaniel when she felt his hands gently grab her shoulders. He had a reassuring smile on his face and his golden eyes twinkled as if they too smiled at Serenade.

"It'll be okay. Trust me."

Serenade had always trusted Nathaniel. And she knew in her heart that she would always trust Nathaniel's words. So she smiled and thanked him for his reassurance.

The following week had a number of surprises for Serenade even if it was Monday. After getting more settled in and spending more time with Nathaniel, Serenade made her way to her locker that morning and found a note in blue-green paper, taped to her locker and her name was written in a beautiful cursive handwriting she didn't recognize.

However, as she saw the note, Serenade sighed and said aloud, "Of course. Ken"

"Hi S-Serenade!" an excited voice said.

She turned to find Ken by her side. His round glasses almost fogged up with excitement of just being next to his "one true love". Ken was a little shorter than she was, and he had freckles around his cheeks, and had a mushroom haircut that made him look younger than he was supposed to be.

"Hey Ken," Serenade replied still sweetly. Any other girl would have blown up and yelled at him right then and there. "I found one of your notes to me again. And no I haven't read it yet."

To her surprise, Ken looked puzzled even if he was still looking eager.

"I haven't written a note for you yet!" Ken said. "I just came to say hi, and ask you if you know Amber."

Serenade frowned. "Yes I do. Why?"

Still smiling, Ken answered, "Well she and her friends found a way to get my money from me and now I don't have lunch money."

The black haired girl opened her locker a little too strongly to the point of almost hitting Ken.

"So she's a bully now?" she asked herself. "What a change in a person…"

She turned to him and asked if he needed help with lunch money but he denied it and thanked her so many times and also seemed quite flattered about it.

"Well, anyways," Ken said dreamily as though he were walking on cloud nine. "Who's that note from?"

Serenade shrugged. "I have no idea. I assumed it was yours, but this isn't your handwriting."

"Yeah I write very messy!" Ken laughed nervously. He looked quite crestfallen as he took a look at the note for Serenade. "Are you going to read it?"

Thankfully, the bell rang and Serenade excused herself to go to her first class. She pretty much waited the whole time to read the note, otherwise, the teacher would have taken the note away. So as soon as the next bell rang, Serenade made her way to the restroom and eagerly got the note out and read:

_Life without you was fine, was okay_

_It was spent aimlessly getting through each new day_

_Now that you're here, joy and pleasure I see_

_Each second and minute filled with sweet ecstasy._

The poem was beautiful. And it was written in the same cursive as on the one in front where it said her name. Forgetting about the world around her, Serenade began to think who in the world would send her this poem if she had only just been here for a week.

"Oh look at the new girl," a snobby voice said.

Serenade turned and saw Amber and her two friends coming in the restroom and she quickly hid her note the best she possibly could.

"I wouldn't like to be the _new girl_," Amber emphasized as she walked to the mirror to look at herself. "I wouldn't be as popular and pretty as I am now!"

"Shut up Amber," Serenade said rolling her eyes.

The blonde girl with big curls immediately turned in the direction of Serenade and glared at her.

"Nobody tells me to shut up," Amber said angrily.

"Oh I'm sorry," Serenade said as sweetly as she possibly could. "Well, I'm not Nobody in case you didn't know. I'm Serenade, last time I checked. So I believe I have the right to tell you! So, I'll say it again… Shut up Amber!"

Amber gave a pout and an angrier glare. She then looked at her posse, and they began to leave.

"Oh," Amber said stopping behind Serenade. She turned and still glaring at Serenade, she added, "And stay away from my brother! I don't want him to lower his standards you know. What with you coming back and all that, he's been way up in the clouds and he needs to focus on his student body president career."

"He's my friend," Serenade said coolly. "Nathaniel has a right to talk to me and befriend me. And what do you mean by 'lower his standards'?"

"She doesn't know yet!" her friend Lee giggled evilly.

Serenade said nothing and looked quite confused.

"You're right!" Amber said triumphantly. "This girl is completely clueless!"

Then Amber and her two friends left a confused Serenade in the restroom as they went away laughing. Still quite puzzled, Serenade left to find Nathaniel and see what he thought or if he knew anything. She still had ten minutes before the bell rang so she left to go find Nathaniel in the student council room.

"Hey Serenade!" he said brightly as she came into the door. "What's that note you got?" He seemed to be eying the note in her hands excitedly and looked as eager as he had just been offered the entire season of the CSI New York series he loved very much.

"It's this note!" she exclaimed. "I found it on my locker this morning."

"And what do you think about it?" Nathaniel said getting closer to Serenade.

"I don't know who wrote it to me," she replied shaking her head making Nathaniel's face fall. "I don't even recognize the handwriting!"

"You don't…recognize it…?" her friend asked in what sounded like shock.

The girl before him shook her head. "No and look! Read what it says!"

Almost immediately, Nathaniel gave back the letter and was still smiling. "That's very good poem, and it's written by a great poet named Joanna Fuchs."

Serenade nodded impatiently as she frowned. "Yes but I _need_ to figure out who gave it to me… It might be a secret admirer!"

Nathaniel looked very amused and said, "Well, try to not to over think things. If it is a secret admirer, then just narrow down your choices as best as you can. It might be from someone you least expect it from!"

The blond boy then excused himself to the front office and left a very confused but determined Serenade in the room. She was going to try her best to figure out who had written her the letter and who was her secret admirer.

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**A/N: It's kinda long :p lol hope you guys keep reading and reviewing! :) And hope you guys enjoyed it as well ^_^**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm sorry for not posting :( Band has been very crazy and i haven't had time :p Well here's the next chapter, thank you so much for the reviews I've gotten and please R&R and enjoy! ^_^**

**I don't own My Candy Love**

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For the rest of the week, Serenade had not received any poems from her secret admirer. She felt a little disappointed that the person did not continue to give her anymore letters, but Serenade had reread the poem "Now That You're Here" by Joanna Fuchs over and over again till she had memorized it and continued to wonder, who on earth had sent it to her in the first place and why…

_Well obviously they have something for me, _she thought to herself as she was walking to her locker.

Serenade continued to think for awhile, till she noticed a young man leaning against the lockers by Serenade. The young man had red hair, a black coat over a red shirt that had a band logo on it, and black jeans. He was pretty good looking, Serenade admitted that, but she noticed that he had an aura of a "bad boy" presented all over him. The black haired girl then stopped a few yards away from him, and hid herself by a classroom door as she watched the "bad boy".

The mysterious young man then moved away from the lockers and Serenade quickly noticed a red paper taped to her locker and she immediately dashed out and ran to her locker where she surprised the young man.

Serenade then stopped in front of the young man and was at a loss for words. She couldn't seem to figure out what to say, or to even ask if he was the one who put up the paper on her locker. The young man then crossed his arms over his chest and gave Serenade an annoyed look.

"Hi," Serenade said a little breathlessly.

The young man grunted what seemed like a greeting and continued to give her the annoyed look and waited for anything else Serenade had to say.

"I'm Serenade," she said confidently.

"Castiel," the young man merely said. "You're the new girl."

It wasn't a question; it was a statement. _Well, he seems pretty confident _Serenade thought.

"Yeah, so what?"

The bad boy smirked at her. "Easy now. It was pretty obvious since I've never seen you around here."

"Alright, but why are you by my locker?" she asked cautiously.

The annoyed look returned to Castiel's face. "I can stand by whatever locker I want."

Serenade was beginning to get annoyed at the young man in front of her, and without thinking she remarked about why there was a red note taped to her locker. The young man then stepped away, clearly annoyed but somehow hiding a smirk, and looked at the note.

Castiel then turned to Serenade again, and replied, "You're feisty." That made her blush a light shade, and she asked, "Did you put that note on my locker?"

"No. Does it look like I pay attention to what's _not _important to me?" Castiel answered still annoyed. "I wanted to hang out by the courtyard, but that little Amber and her stupid friends were there, so I decided to wait by here and wait for that gang of girls to leave."

_He's avoiding Amber? _Serenade secretly thought and began to wonder why, but quickly shook the thoughts out and focused on the red letter.

Castiel then made his way towards the courtyard. "Take your stupid note thing. By now, Amber probably left the courtyard."

Serenade stared at the retreating figure of Castiel then went back to her letter and opened the folded paper with the same elegant cursive that formed her name. Nervously, she opened the letter and read:

_Every time I look into your eyes, my heart smiles_

_Every time I look at you, my world shines brighter_

_When I am next to you, my voice goes weak_

_When you touch me, my body goes numb_

_I feel as if it's meant to be_

_Do you feel it too?_

Once she was done reading the poem, Serenade felt her heart racing. Even if it had been only two poems so far, she wished that she would find out who her secret admirer was! As she indulged in her thoughts, Nathaniel came up behind Serenade and playfully scared her.

"Don't do that!" Serenade laughed as she playfully hit him.

Nathaniel laughed and fluffed his best friend's long black hair and peeked over her shoulder.

"Is that a secret not again?" he asked teasingly, but sounded hopeful at the same time.

Serenade nodded. "And I still haven't figured it out who it is!"

"Don't you have any hints from these letters?" Nathaniel asked, trying not to look crestfallen.

The girl pondered for a moment, and finally said that it was someone who probably liked literature and writing a lot.

"Well, don't you know anybody like that?" Nathaniel asked, smiling and gesturing towards something in his hand.

Unfortunately, Serenade could not think of anybody like that, and this disappointed Nathaniel greatly. He sighed in exasperation and grabbed onto her shoulders gently. He then looked into her big eyes, and spoke in a tender voice.

"You're looking around with your eyes wide open, Bubbles. You need to actually _see _and _observe _what's around you yeah?"

Serenade stared at Nathaniel in wonder. The way he had spoken to her was so different from many other times, and he had used the affectionate nickname he made up for Serenade when they were younger… He hadn't used her nickname since the day that Serenade moved.

"Now, come with me!" her best friend added happily. "I wanna show you something you might like."

With that, Serenade folded the letter carefully in her bag and followed Nathaniel to somewhere in the school. To her surprise, they had ended up in the library, and on a table in front of her was a wrapped package. Serenade glanced at Nathaniel, and he gestured towards the box. His best friend then got the box and opened it, and saw that it was a book that she had been looking for since middle school.

"It's the book…" she whispered. "How did you find it?"

Nathaniel shrugged. He seemed very pleased with himself, though looked humbled. "I just remembered… And I bought it after you left to remember what you loved a lot."

Serenade then threw her arms around Nathaniel's neck and hugged him tight.

"Thank you so much…Dork…" Serenade said teasingly, now using her nickname for Nathaniel.

He grinned and hugged her back happily. The two remained there for a while, till they finally broke apart and Serenade noticed that her friend was blushing a light shade of pink. But before she could ask, Nathaniel then asked if Serenade would help him organize some of the books. She happily agreed and the two began to work together in the library.

Every now and then, they would play around and Serenade realized how much she had missed her dearest friend… She missed all the moments spent with him and the carefree times before she moved.

"So," Nathaniel said, stretching his arms out as they had just finished sorting the books. "Want to go grab something to eat?"

"I would…love…to…" Serenade replied trying to put the last book on the highest shelf. She finally reached, put the book back, and sighed and turned around to face Nathaniel.

"Where shall we go eat?" she asked smiling at her friend.

Nathaniel then playfully inched closer to her face and replied, "I'm in the mood for some…burgers."

Serenade's face lit up and she squealed happily, making Nathaniel grin at her. Suddenly, the two of them noticed that they were quite close to each other. Their foreheads were nearly touching, and golden eyes met grey eyes. Serenade felt a warmth creep on her cheeks, and she knew right away her face was blushing. She even saw Nathaniel with his eyes wide open, and also blushing quite red.

"W-We should get going…you know," Serenade said breaking the silence. "I'm pretty hungry!"

Nathaniel blinked a few times then smiled at Serenade. "Of course. Let's get going."

The two friends then left the library to a burger place, laughing and joking all the way. However, something deep inside Serenade tweaked at her.

_I do not like him like that, _she thought to herself. _He's my best friend! I can't think of him that way… Can I? He's…my best friend…_

With that, Serenade was now left with another inner conflict and hoped that somehow things would resolve themselves.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm soooooooooooooo sorry for not updating :( School has ben very hectic, especially band! We're sooo close to contest and I'm freaking out :o Anyways, here is the next chapter, hope you guys enjoy and please R&R! :)**

The time Serenade spent with Nathaniel was amazing. The two of them had so much fun with one another that whoever would have seen them, would have mistaken them for a couple out on a date. The pair even walked to school the next day, (and they went quite early since Nathaniel had to do something for the office staff), and Serenade did not mind at all. In fact, she was quite happy despite the many no's and arguments with herself about keeping a friendly zone between her and Nathaniel. Serenade had also momentarily forgotten about her secret admirer, but was immediately reminded halfway through the day by a note on her locker.

Eagerly, she ran to her locker and was about to grab the note when she noticed something odd about it. Unlike the previous letters, her name was not in cursive, and the choice of paper was pretty weird… The paper was obviously ripped from a notebook, since it had the many lines used for writing, and the paper was _pink_. Serenade wasn't very fond of the color pink, and she knew that her secret admirer had picked out neat copy paper and dyed to her favorite colors. The black haired girl then picked the letter off her locker and opened it.

And, unlike her other letters, what was inside it was not a beautiful poem written in the elegant cursive, but a childish poem written in very girly handwriting that she suspected was not Ken's.

_Roses are red,_

_Violets are blue,_

_Get away from him!_

_Because I said so!_

Serenade raised her eyebrows curiously and immediately thought of someone who had blonde hair and was a snob. The bell rang for her next class and she walked off to the library since her next class was scheduled to be in the library. She was the first to arrive, and before she could settle on sitting down comfortably somewhere, Serenade heard a snobby giggle that belonged to a very snobby girl.

"Do you think that what's-her-name got the message?" a different voice asked eagerly.

"Oh I know it did!" the snobby voice giggled again. "I know I scared off that Serenade for good! I just want her to get away from him! It's so annoying."

Serenade's heart skipped a beat. She had been right; Amber _was _the one who had put that note on her locker. Serenade listened as closely as she could to the latter's conversation.

"I mean, I know _I _have way better poetry thingy skills than he does!" Amber exclaimed loudly.

"But Amber," another curious voice asked. "Why do you want Serenade out of the picture so bad?"

There was silence, and Serenade assumed the blonde was pondering on that question.

"Well—"

Unfortunately, Amber was cut off by the librarian who immediately ushered the girls out of the library since they were already going to be late to their next class. Once Amber and her posse left, the library was then filled with students from Serenade's class. Iris, Serenade's close friend she made almost immediately when she moved here to Sweet Amoris, sat next to her.

"Hey Serenade!" Irish greeted. "Is that another love poem from him?"

She shook her head and handed her the note. "It's from Amber."

Iris looked shocked and confused. "How…? Was it _her _tricking you all this time? How do you know?"

"No, _that _note is from Amber," Serenade explained. "And I heard her just right now."

Her redheaded friend widened her eyes. "No wonder this handwriting was too different. And what did you hear?"

Serenade then went on explaining how she overheard Amber boasting about how she had tried to threaten Serenade by staying away from her secret admirer, and how much she wants Serenade out of the way.

"So I think she doesn't want me to get in the way between her and the guy. She obviously likes him," Serenade concluded carefully.

"Do you think she might know who the secret admirer is?" Iris asked curiously. As Serenade shrugged, she added, "I think I might know who your secret admirer is!"

"Who?!"

"Ssshhhh!" shushed the librarian as she walked past them.

The two friends giggled softly and Serenade asked again who it might be.

"Castiel," Iris whispered triumphantly.

"That bad boy dude?" Serenade scoffed.

Iris nodded her head and added that Amber was going after Castiel and wanted to go out with him for quite awhile now.

"Really?" Serenade wondered. "But…he's so…serious…"

Iris shrugged. "It's worth a shot you know."

Serenade thought for a moment, took out her book and finally she gave in. "Alright then. Tell me as much as you can about him since I haven't been here that long."

"Well, he loves music for one thing," Iris said taking out her book too. "He almost always has his guitar and he's always playing it, which makes a lot of girls go crazy. And I've also heard that he has a really good singing voice. But I've never heard him though."

"But he doesn't look like the type to write poems like the ones I have," Serenade remarked.

"You're forgetting," Iris said playfully. "He sings and plays guitar. He could have just as well have gotten the poem by that Joanna lady and written the other one! He's probably trying to write a song verse for you."

"But," Serenade remarked yet again as Iris rolled her eyes, though she was smiling. "When he was by my locker the other day, he told me it wasn't important what was around him, and he doesn't look like they type to write in cursive."

"You are so clueless!" Iris giggled. "Bad boys are secretive. They don't show their true selves around normal people. Only around people they really care about! Haven't you seen movies like that, my friend?"

"Okay then Advisor Iris!" Serenade laughed. "I give up then. _If it is _Castiel, then what do you suggest I do?"

Iris almost looked exasperated, which made Serenade snort and giggle before the librarian shushed her again.

"Well, talk to him more! And…just try to see how you can break through his shell, you know?"

"How do I 'break his shell'?" Serenade asked.

Iris shrugged. "That is up to you. From what I've seen, everyone has their own way of getting through to someone."

Serenade continued to think about that most of the time left at the library, and even the rest of the day. She remembered a movie called "A Walk to Remember" where the bad boy had to be tutored by a minister's daughter, and they slowly fell in love even when the guy found out the girl had leukemia.

_But does he have bad grades? _Serenade thought to herself in the courtyard once school ended. _I could tutor him… No… What about music lessons? No… I don't play guitar. Singing lessons? No, he has to be comfortable with me to sing… Aaaaagh! I'm over thinking this!_

She was deep into her thoughts, that the black haired girl didn't even notice a certain redheaded guy next to her, his arms folded and staring at her with his eyebrows raised.

On impulse, Serenade turned, blinked, and gave him a smile and a wave. Castiel could have possibly raised his eyebrows further up, and his look of annoyance returned. He then got up and went to another side of the library so he wouldn't be seen.

"Oh nice going genius," Iris laughed.

Serenade stuck out her tongue at Iris playfully. Tomorrow, Serenade decided, she would try and find out if Castiel really was the one sending her all those messages.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's been awhile since I last updated but here's the next chapter! :) Hopefully now that marching season is over, I'll have more time to update! ^_^ R&R plz! Oh and about my Twilight Princess story… I don't know when I'll finish that one so just keep your eyes open when/if I do! I kinda lost inspiration for that one -.- On with the story!**

"Hey Castiel!"

"WHAT?!" the redhead yelled as he turned around angrily.

Serenade whimpered in surprise and took in a deep breath and tried to talk to him. Well, it wasn't the first time that she had tried talking to him. It had been a few days since Serenade had talked to Iris at the library and she had also been (in her eyes stalking), trying to talk to Castiel since then. But every time she had tried to talk to him, he would get annoyed and try to shake her off. Unfortunately, that did not work because Serenade was stubborn enough to keep going after Castiel.

"I-I was just wondering…" Serenade stammered. "W-What…bands you like?"

She hoped that he didn't notice the slight nervousness she was suffering through and that he would at least answer. To her surprise, he looked mildly surprised as well (although he did scrunch his eyebrows a little suspiciously).

"Well," he started as kept walking through the hallway and Serenade followed. "I like Metallica, KISS, ACDC, Linkin Park…why do you wanna know?"

"Just curious," Serenade smiled sweetly at his still-suspicious face.

"Alright then Ms. Curiosity," he replied. "What kinds of bands do _you _like?"

_Am I going to be one of those girls that pretends to like the stuff of a guy, _she thought to herself, _just to get his attention? _Serenade debated with herself for a bit, and finally, her mind won and she blurted out, "Evanescence."

Castiel looked much more surprised than he did a while ago, that he also blurted out, "Really? You like them?"

It was no lie; she actually did like the band, however she only knew a few songs.

"What's your favorite song?" Castiel asked again.

"My Immortal," Serenade said automatically.

As she looked at Castiel, Serenade saw that he actually grinned! She celebrated her minor victory over that, and Castiel answered, "It's a nice song. But I prefer Bring Me to Life with Linkin Park."

Before Serenade could answer, a familiar voice interrupted them.

"Hey Serenade, could I talk to you for a bit?"

She turned around and to her surprise, Nathaniel was standing behind them. She was about to agree when Castiel made a snide remark.

"Oh now Mr. President's worried I'm gonna take away his little friend?"

The green eyed girl turned around and found the redhead smirking at Nathaniel's fading smile.

"No, as a matter of fact," Nathaniel replied in the politest voice he could muster. "I just wish to speak to _my _best friend, if you must know. And in _private _as well."

Castiel shrugged. "Suit yourself. But if you ever find her spray painting the walls of the school, don't come blaming me then."

"No. I know I won't," Nathaniel snapped. "She's not a delinquent. She's never been one, and never will be."

"Are implying something Hunter?" Castiel asked in a raised voice. "Just because I'm a 'delinquent', doesn't mean I have a line of worshippers behind me. Take your stinkin' girlfriend and get the hell away from me."

"She's not my girlfriend!" the blond said hotly, but rather nervously as well. "She happens to be my closest friend who's a _girl_!"

Castiel snorted and mumbled, "Whatever you say, Hunter."

The two boys remained in an icy silence, almost shooting daggers with their looks. Serenade, trying to be referee between the two of them, forced the two young men apart seeing how close they were to start throwing punches at each other.

Castiel shook his head and walked away, clearly annoyed and angry at what just happened. Serenade then took the opportunity to look at Nathaniel and raised her eyebrows at him.

"I think you don't get along with Castiel," she said.

Nathaniel shook his head. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it…"

He then took a few moments to calm down and finally, gave Serenade his real smile. For some reason, this smile of his looked happier than normal and it also made Serenade's heart flutter a little.

"So how's your secret admirer hunt going?" he asked.

"I'm trying to see if it's Castiel," Serenade said excitedly. "You know, the bad boy likes the sweet little girl, like in movies?"

At the mention of his arch enemy's name, Nathaniel's smile faded instantly. He stared at Serenade for quite awhile before being able to talk.

"Castiel? Really?"

"Well yeah…" Serenade said timidly as she rubbed her arm nervously. "I thought it'd be a good start. Rule out the basic stuff you see in a romance movie or book."

Nathaniel then put his hand against his forehead and looked extremely exasperated. The green eyed girl was now very confused as to what was happening with Nathaniel. Was it something she was doing wrong? Was she taking this too seriously? She just needed to know now!

"What's wrong?" she asked, trying to take his hand away from his forehead. "Are you okay Nat?"

At the mention of a new nickname, Nathaniel looked up and took hold of Serenade's hand in his. The two stayed remained there, hand in hand; both of them staring at each other. For some reason, a blush crept its way up to Serenade's cheeks and she had no idea why and tried to shake it off before Nathaniel saw. To her surprise, Nathaniel was also blushing. This did not last longer; Nathaniel then quickly let go of Serenade's hand and cleared his throat loudly.

"You're just not looking at the obvious," Nathaniel said, not looking at her. "You're scratching out the stuff that's not even possible. I think you should open up your eyes more."

Serenade tilted her head to the side in curiosity; what did Nathaniel mean?

"So," she replied slowly. "I'm over-analyzing it?"

Nathaniel chuckled and nodded. "In fact, I think I saw something on your locker. You should go check it out."

Her green eyes widened in surprise and happiness. She thanked Nathaniel and gave him a hug. The hug, however, lasted a little longer than it would normally. Nonetheless, Serenade rushed out of Nathaniel's arms and to her locker.

Once she was at her locker, she saw a black letter with silver handwriting taped to the door. She carefully took it, opened it and read:

_I'm glad you're here with me_

_But how I wish you could see…_

_The obvious truth of my feelings for you_

_They are too strong to coop_

_So please, don't make me beg_

_Don't make me break a leg_

_For I love you, my sweet_

_And one day we will soon meet…_

The poem ended off in those words. Now the secret admirer actually made most of the poem rhyme! Determined, Serenade grasped Nathaniel's words of advice in her head and set out towards her goal. Something in her gut told her who her secret admirer was but she refused to accept it until it was confirmed. So the green eyed girl set off to find the last clues of her secret admirer.


	6. Chapter 6

For a few weeks now, Serenade had no luck whatsoever on finding out about her secret admirer. She had really no idea on who it might be the one pursuing her, and she had even eliminated Castiel from her list. Her and her friend Iris had run out of ideas and had no other clues or leads on who the secret admirer could be.

The two were at Serenade's apartment finishing up a class project, and also still trying to figure any last clues leading to Serenade's secret admirer.

"Are you sure it's not Ken?" Iris asked for the millionth time. "And he was just trying to catch you off guard?"

"No," Serenade said shaking her head in frustration. "He moved already, remember? I doubt he's leaving notes on my locker."

"He could be paying someone?" her redhead friend asked thoughtfully.

Serenade shook her head again. She then sighed exasperatedly and pushed her book and work aside as she rubbed her eyes.

"I'm about to give up," Serenade said.

"Yeah, we're stressing out over it too much…" Iris replied as she played with her pencil.

The two friends remained in silence for a moment before Serenade asked, "Well, we finished our project pretty early. Do you want to order pizza?"

Iris nodded eagerly so Serenade picked up the phone and ordered their pizza.

"Do you want to go pick it up? We can go walking from here. It's not that far," Serenade asked.

Iris agreed to the plan and soon the girls were out walking in the late afternoon towards the pizza place. Their pizza had ten minutes left as they got there, so the girls decided to wait there. As the two friends sat down at a nearby booth, a familiar snobbish and girlish laugh was heard; Amber had just walked in with her two friends and did not notice Iris or Serenade.

"So has it died down yet?" Lee asked Amber.

"Oh my brother's phase?" she replied as she put on some lip gloss. At the mention of Nathaniel, Serenade's heart skipped a beat.

"I hope it has died down," Amber continued. She looked up and looked around the pizza workers and pouted. "Aw, cute guy's not here. Oh well girls, let's go back to my place."

The trio left the pizza place and their conversation had perked up Serenade's interests quite a bit. She blindly gave Iris the money needed for the pizza and told her that she would be right back.

The green eyed girl immediately left and took off in the direction of Amber and her friends. To her luck, the trio decided to go into a nearby store and look at some clothes. She quietly followed them in and trailed close by as they continued their earlier conversation.

"But what do you mean it hasn't died down yet?" Amber's other friend asked curiously. "I thought he had stopped."

Amber scoffed. "He stopped the _letters _because he thought it was so 'cute' the way _she _was trying to find out who was writing the stupid poems. Now he's waiting to see if she can figure him out."

Serenade inhaled sharply at the mention of letters and Nathaniel. Could it really have been Nathaniel writing to her all this time?

"But why does he like her so much? Is it 'cause she moved back?" Lee asked as she looked a red kimono top.

Amber admired some pink blouses and replied, "He has liked her since forever! Now that she came back, he wanted to take advantage of trying to get together with her in a 'romantic' way according to him."

Now Serenade's heart was really beating fast and she was scared to continue to listen to the conversation any longer, but she had to know what was going on with Nathaniel and the letters.

"What does he see in her anyway?"

Amber wrinkled her nose as if he had just smelled something bad. "According to Nathaniel, beautiful, smart, funny, calm and some other stupid corny things he said."

Lee giggled maliciously. "Wow, someone is jealous."

"I am not jealous of _her_," Amber huffed. "She's always had my brother's attention! Ever since we were little, it was always her just _there_. Even my parent's attention she would steal! Ugh! That _Serenade_ just took away everything!"

Serenade's eyes widened greatly. She had just found out that her secret admirer was her own best friend, Nathaniel Hunter… She did not know how to react and how it would change her relationship with him… But more importantly, how did she feel towards him?

After the conversation, Amber's conversations were about pointless things and Serenade decided to leave the store and go back with Iris.

"Hey what happened?" Iris asked in concern as they walked out with pizza in hand.

Serenade said nothing all the way back to her apartment despite all the concerned looks Iris gave her. Finally at her apartment, Iris opened her mouth to speak but Serenade cut her off.

"Nathaniel's my secret admirer."

Iris blinked in confusion. "What? How do you know?"

So Serenade recounted the whole tale about what she heard when she followed Amber out of the pizza joint, and what she heard about Nathaniel's feelings towards her.

"But he's my best friend!" Serenade cried out. "I can't like him that way."

"Do you like him that way?" Iris asked carefully.

"I can't like him that way dude," Serenade replied as she plopped down on the couch. "He's my best friend."

"Doesn't mean you can't stop your feelings," Iris said wisely.

When her friend said nothing, Iris continued. "Look, you may not want to see him that way because you two have been best friends since forever, but maybe you're denying your real feelings. I always see you happy with him and how much you love spending time with him and it could have been something we both missed."

"I…don't know…" Serenade said reluctantly.

"Just make sure you don't do anything rash or shocking that could upset you both. Don't go losing your friendship or something great that could happen in your life," Iris finished.

Serenade then desperately turned on the TV and began eating pizza as her friend joined her. But Serenade did not watch TV; she was thinking about Nathaniel and how she would confront this situation or even her feelings towards her very own best friend.


	7. Chapter 7

The following day at school, Serenade had begun to avoid Nathaniel. She had felt bad about avoiding him, especially whenever there were hurt looks on his face. But she just did not know how to feel about this situation. She felt very confused and did not know how she felt towards Nathaniel.

Throughout most of the school day she had made many excuses so as to not talk to Nathaniel. She even avoided having to hang out with him after school, which even hurt her quite a bit; Serenade loved hanging out with Nathaniel.

Avoiding Nathaniel became part of Serenade's routine as the week progressed. And slowly, as another week passed by, Nathaniel became more suspicious and impatient towards Serenade. He wanted to find out why she kept going through so much trouble to avoid any hang outs or talks with him.

Serenade had hated to say this aloud to anybody, even herself, but she was scared to face Nathaniel about the whole thing. More importantly, were her feelings. The last thing Serenade wanted to do was hurt Nathaniel, but she did not want to lie about her feelings. In the end, Serenade finally summoned up some courage and apologized to Nathaniel, however, she told him she was going through some stuff and she did not know how to handle it. Despite him trying to help her, Serenade refused it and continued to wonder about what she could do.

She knew she was over thinking this horribly, but she just wanted to be sure of her feelings for him. She just wanted to know what she felt towards him first. Did she still love him like a best friend? Or did she feel something more towards him? The green eyed girl really needed to clear her head a bit.

About two weeks had passed by since Serenade found out that Nathaniel was her secret admirer and the unexpected was about to literally strike Serenade at the moment. She was sitting on one of the benches out in the courtyard waiting for her friend Iris when Amber and her posse strutted by and acted as though they did not see Serenade.

"I am _so _happy!" Amber giggled in a girlish matter.

"How come Amber?" Lee asked in a curious manner.

"Well, I think my dear older could _finally _be getting over Serenade," Amber said as though she was offered a lifetime supply of makeup.

"What makes you say that?!"

Amber smiled devilishly and said, "Well, she's been avoiding him in case you haven't noticed. I think she has someone else on her mind… He's pretty hurt if you ask me, and I think this is the first step in getting over a slut who doesn't deserve my brother. I mean, have you seen her talking to the other guys?! And she doesn't talk to my brother?!"

She scoffed and added, "Now I can finally hook him up with that pretty, rich girl from the private prep school I was talking to him about. A mirror image of perfection, much like _moi_!"

"I'm not a slut," Serenade suddenly said aloud and menacingly. She stood up from her bench and looked up at Amber and her friends through her bangs.

Although very surprised that Serenade was there, Amber nonetheless smiled deviously. "Oh hit a soft spot have I?"

"I am not a slut!" Serenade said angrily. "You on the other hand shouldn't be talking you nosey bitch!"

Amber's smiled faltered and she walked closer to Serenade.

"Don't you dare call me that, _ever_ again," she said as sweetly as possible.

"For once, just stay out of your brother's business! You've not only been such a bitch to me, but to your brother and possibly every person in this school! Just butt out already you attention seeking psycho!"Serenade shot back as she clenched her fists tighter. She was surprised that her green eyes weren't as green as Bruce Banner's when he turns into the Hulk.

"Shut up!" Amber screeched. "And don't go talking like that when you're breaking my brother's heart!"

"Since when have you cared about your brother?!" Serenade demanded. "All he ever was to you was a good brother! And you treated him like he was your little servant!"

"You always stole his attention! And even our parents… I only got the attention when he teased me when we were little… I suggest you back off from my brother and me because you're gonna hurt him, and now I'm so close to hurting you."

"Serenade calm down," Iris' voice said as she placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Amber you are so stupid!" Serenade said in frustration. "I'm sorry I stole all that attention you didn't get as a child and now you can never get it back because you 'never' get anybody's attention."

Serenade said the last phrase sarcastically, but as she was about to turn around, the sound of heels marching towards her sound and Amber suddenly struck Serenade with a slap across the cheek.

The "oohs" from a forming crowd sounded but Serenade was blind to it. She held her throbbing cheek as Iris frantically asked if she was alright. Form her peripheral vision, she could see that Amber had a smug look on her face, and she wasn't going to let her walk off like that. Serenade had dropped her arm and she charged at Amber in pure anger; she had enough of her and the little games she had been playing with her all year long. Serenade formed a tight fist with her right hand, and she punched Amber in the center of her nose. The blonde girl staggered back and fell back on the ground as her nose began to bleed.

"Don't you dare ever underestimate me like that!" Serenade shouted as the entire crowd clapped and cheered for her victory.

Serenade immediately sidestepped Iris and her gaping mouth as she angrily picked up her books and bag from the bench as she stormed away from the crowd with her redhead friend following her. The last glimpse she got was of Amber on the floor with her bloody nose as only her two friends helped her up. Serenade smirked a little at the great feeling of finally winning a victory over Amber after all this time.

**A/N: Sorry for the delay :P oh and I DO NOT ENCOURAGE FIGHTING this scene is just used for my story and nothing else so please do not go out and fight!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Again, sorry I have not updated. Life as senior getting ready for college is NOT easy . Anyways, read & review and enjoy! :D **

* * *

After her encounter with Amber, Serenade had stormed off and blindly went to her apartment. Once she entered her apartment, Serenade threw her stuff down and began to sob uncontrollably. Fortunately, her friend Iris entered and got down on her knees to comfort her friend.

"What's wrong Serenade?" Iris asked with concern. "Don't let that Amber get to you. She's stupid."

The green eyed girl continued to sob and cry and slowly she regained her composure to try and talk to her friend. She rubbed her eyes and looked straight ahead at the wall.

"I know Amber is stupid," Serenade laughed. "You don't have to tell me that, but it's not that…"

"Then what's wrong?"

Serenade slowly took a deep breath and she felt her heart flutter and skip a beat as she was ready to tell her friend what she was feeling.

However, before she could say anything, Serenade's phone rang. She crawled to her bag and began to look for her phone. To her surprise, she saw that Nathaniel was calling her. She picked up her phone and answered.

"Hello?"

"Um, Serenade?" Nathaniel said reluctantly. "Do you think you could come by my house right now?"

"H-How come?" Serenade said nervously.

In the background, she could hear Amber yelling at Nathaniel, her parents and even at Serenade.

"Uh, it's Amber," he replied nervously.

"Oh," she said. "I'll be right over then, bye."

Not waiting for an answer Serenade hung up her phone. Immediately, Iris said that she was going with Serenade no matter how much she protested. She smiled sweetly at her friend and thanked her for her support.

Immediately, the two friends left Serenade's apartment and made their way towards Nathaniel's house. Feeling nervous, Serenade marched up the steps and rang the door bell. There was movement inside and more girlish yelling that belonged to Amber, and finally the door was answered by Nathaniel's and Amber's mother.

She was the older image of Amber, except with Nathaniel's lighter blond hair and much warmer golden eyes.

"Oh my dear Serenade!" Mrs. Hunter exclaimed. "I've missed you so! But young lady you are in trouble!"

Serenade gulped nervously, still in the arms of Mrs. Hunter.

Mrs. Hunter put her hands on Serenade's shoulders and said, "Why have you not come over for dinner yet? Daniel and I were so excited to hear you come back! I was almost expecting to make some mac and cheese for you and Nathaniel again soon."

"Ohh I-I" Serenade laughed nervously.

Mrs. Hunter waved it off and laughed a much lighter and warmer way than her daughter. As if right on time, Amber appeared upstairs with her pajamas on and a white bandage covering her nose.

"MOM!" she screeched angrily. "Why did you let that _thing _in?!"

"Amber!" Mrs. Hunter scolded. "Don't you dare call Serenade that! After all, what you did to her is the reason why you have your nose like that."

Amber huffed angrily and turned back to her room and slammed the door shut. Mrs. Hunter sighed and turned back to Serenade and smiled warmly at her.

"I'm so sorry for punching Amber!" she cried out. "I didn't mean to! I just—"

"Sweetheart," Mrs. Hunter said sweetly. "I've known you for a long time and I know that anybody wouldn't do something to my daughter unless they had a reason to. My husband and I were so shocked at first, but when we found it was you it was more shocking."

Serenade fidgeted uncomfortably.

"But," she continued. "We knew you, Serenade. And right away, when we found out about this dilemma, we knew Amber had to start it."

"I'm really sorry though," Serenade said regretfully. "I still shouldn't have…"

"What's done is done," Mrs. Hunter said. "Now, you and your friend must join us for dinner! My husband wants to greet you and especially Nathaniel."

Serenade blushed at the mention of Nathaniel and walked to the dining room. The three walked in and greeted Mr. Hunter, and despite the many apologies Serenade gave, like his wife, Mr. Hunter waved it off and was pleased that she was back in town.

As soon as Serenade and Iris sit down, Nathaniel walked in and smiled at the sight of Serenade. Soon dinner was served and all them talked, ate and laughed. Serenade had never noticed how much fun she had had with Nathaniel ever since she moved back until now. She felt slightly happier about this.

Once dinner was over, Iris excused herself to go home, but Serenade told her to go back to her apartment to sleepover because it was late. She decided to go back with Iris so she would not be alone, and to her surprise and delight, Nathaniel also volunteered to go as well.

The three friends walked back to Serenade's apartment, so once Iris went inside, Nathaniel asked Serenade if they could talk for a little bit. She agreed so the two were outside on a bench.

After a brief moment of silence, Nathaniel asked, "Why did you punch my sister?"

"A-Are you mad?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I just want to know."

Serenade sighed and told him the reason; all the stuff she was saying about her and how much she was trying to lower Serenade's self-esteem.

Nathaniel looked down and nodded and said, "I'm sorry."

"I'm the one who's sorry," Serenade said. "I still shouldn't have punched her."

"She's the one who caused it don't worry about it," Nathaniel said smiling. "But can I ask you something else?"

The green eyed girl nodded. Then his golden cat eyes looked straight into her emerald green eyes making her blush.

"Why were you really avoiding me?"

Serenade opened her mouth to speak but said nothing. To her surprise, he took her hand in his and asked again, "Why were you avoiding me?"

She sighed and began to tell him her story.

"I heard from your sister something awhile ago. She was passing by a pizza joint where me and Iris where at and we listened to her talking about you. She left, so I decided to follow and from there I found out about…"

She didn't know if she could go on, but Serenade took a deep breath in and added, "I found out about the letters I was being sent from my secret admirer … And I found out it was you ..."

Nathaniel blinked in surprise. He was still holding her hand and also looked pretty happy from the way his golden eyes were glowing.

He then sighed and said, "Yes, you're right it was me. I just can't believe that you had to find out from Amber."

The blond laughed and when he saw Serenade's playful pout, he continued to add, "But yes it's me. I really like you a lot Serenade. It's not just because you came back, but because you've been an amazing friend and girl to me. I think you're beautiful, smart, funny, cute, dedicated and so much more I can't even describe. I…really do have strong feelings for you Serenade."

Serenade looked away unsure how to respond. When she came back, she did feel a different atmosphere with Nathaniel but maybe she just chose to ignore it and continue with their friendship. But did she really feel that way for Nathaniel? All those times spent with Nathaniel recently, and how much she had missed him when Serenade was avoiding him. Now she knew she had to decide, but now her heart was telling her to go with Nathaniel.

"Nathaniel…" Serenade started.

He then slowly lifted her face up to him and the two's eyes met. Mesmerized by his golden eyes, the two best friends moved closer.

"You think too much," Nathaniel whispered.

Then the two of them leaned in closer and their lips brushed against each other. They pressed their lips a little harder and the two began to kiss softly and slowly. To Serenade, it felt as if his and her lips were _meant _to mold and move together like that. And from somewhere inside her, as they continued kissing, Serenade felt as if she was floating little by little and the stars were dancing around her and Nathaniel; she had never felt like this with anyone before and it was an amazing feeling.

Serenade then put her arms around Nathaniel's neck as the kiss deepened a little and he put his arms around her waist holding her tightly. The two continued to kiss, but then reality hit Serenade and her eyes widened. She was kissing her best friend! Was this a dream?

Out of anger at herself for over thinking, she pushed Nathaniel away and ran off inside despite the hurt she felt in her heart as she forced herself to leave his arms and the painful look on Nathaniel's face as she ran off from him.


End file.
